Shanghai Oriental Sports Center — GMP Architekten

shanghai's 'oriental sports center' by hamburg-based studio gmp architekten, is now complete. the complex - opening tomorrow - will be inaugurated with the 14th FINA world swimming championships. constructed in under two and half years, the design is the result of an international competition held in 2008.

overall view of siteimage courtesy by marcus bredt

built on former brownfield land along the huangpu river, the facility consists of three individual buildingsintended to accommodate a range of audiences, events and pools. the crisp white structures - each unique in size and form - are defined by broad, repetitious arches and triangular elements that project a sail-like aesthetic.

entrance of hall stadiumimage courtesy by marcus bredt

the sinuous volumes - a hall stadium, natatorium and outdoor pool - are visually connected through a series ofman-made ponds and islands. dictated by the shapes of the buildings, the calm and reflective water seeks tointegrate the divided site, and alludes to a much more natural environment.

exterior view of the natatoriumimage courtesy by marcus bredt

holding over 3,500 fixed seats (5,000 after the FIDA competition), the natatorium contains four pools, all arranged in a row. designed to showcase multiple events simultaneously, the unit features two standard-sized pools,a diving pool and a leisure pool.

diving pool in natatoriumimage courtesy by marcus bredt

interior view of the natatoriumimage courtesy by marcus bredtthe outdoor swimming complex is an open-air pavilion located on an artificial island. encircling a competition-sizediving pool and diving towers, the skewed and exposed structure currently houses 2,000 fixed stadium seats, and is set to include anther 3,000 after event.

view of outdoor pool from the streetimage courtesy by marcus bredt

outdoor pools image courtesy by marcus bredt

the stadium hall has a crowd capacity of 14,000 and can be expanded to 18,000 through mobile seating. during the FINA championships, the building will be used for synchronized swimming events, and will later accommodate boxing matches, basketball games, concerts and ice-hockey.

detail of facadeimage courtesy by marcus bredt

view of hall stadium from across man-made pondimage courtesy by marcus bredt